Tire repair question

Well, whatever method people select, the important thing to remember here is that any repaired tire (whether it's through the use of a plug or a patch or both used in combination) is never going to be quite as safe as a brand new tire which has never suffered any puncture or damage.

I've always had excellent results using the self-vulcanizing plugs myself.

Ray

 

Above all, I just want everyone to have either a safe repair or safe tire. If I seemed personally confrontational, it wasn't my intent... I've just seen a lot of unsafe situations and repairs, and sometimes that gets me overly outspoken on such things.

 

The patch is the correct way to repair. Once installed correctly, air pressure keeps patch against inside of tire.

 

That's conventional wisdom but I have done it both ways. I have never had a plug fail. It really comes down to laziness. If I find a hole Sunday at 4pm I'm putting a plug in. If I find a hole on Friday with the whole weekend ahead of me I'll take the wheel off dismount the tire and patch from the inside. The original hole in the tire leaked out and caused a flat. That flat could have taken hours or days. If a patch or plug fails the tire isn't going to blow up. It is just going to leak down like it did before. That really isn't a big deal. Conventional wisdom is also to never patch a sidewall because it flexes and will eat the patch. Well that's BS too. A tire is an incredibly dynamic device. It moves way more than you can see. That patch on the sidewall or the tread is under just as much load. I don't patch sidewalls but in a pinch I would and not worry about it. Again, It's not like the tire is going to rip open if the patch fails.

 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but...

The static pressure inside the tire only keeps it inflated, but it doesn't do anything to keep the patch pushing up against the inside of the tire. Just like the air inside a pressurized airplane keeps the cabin pressure at around 11 psi, but it doesn't push you up against the inside of the cabin walls with 11 pounds of force per square inch; both you and the tire patch are free to move around.

The only thing holding the patch in place is the glue.

Ray

 

+1

Tires are pretty tough customers and I think most people don't really give them enough credit for how robust they are and what amazing abuse they can withstand.

I never really gave much thought to how strong / durable tires are, until I once attempted to remove a motorcycle tire using just a box cutter. I guess somehow I never realized that the tire bead also has a steel cable inside it haha

Also, I generally install my car, truck and/or motorcycle tires myself using the manual, old-school 2 tire iron method; that in itself will give you a new level of appreciation for how tough your average car tire is.

Ray

 

You might consider these....https://www.amazon.com/Zerint-TP-112W-Combination-Repair-Wrapped/dp/B085HK65PP/ref=asc_df_B085HK65PP?tag=bngsmtphsnus-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80470624769027&hvnetw=s&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=m&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584070153318931&psc=1

We run them in with no problems.

 

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Used these for years.

Also recently (a year ago) used this for a very similar puncture in a tire on my Cayman. Tire never lost a pound of pressure. Lasted until I replaced the tires this summer.

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